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The Road to Electrification: Smart Parking can help make it happen
On March 16th, Cleverciti, Element Energy, Trojan Energy & British Parking Association co-hosted the webinar: “The road to electrification: how parking data can assist Local Authorities with electric transition and beyond.”
The speaker panel consisted of:
- Chris Heddle, Country Manager UK & Ireland at Cleverciti
- David Parker, COO at Cleverciti
- Sarah Clements, Senior Consultant at Element Energy
- Hugh Mackenzie, COO at Trojan Energy
- Julian O'Kelly, PhD, Head of Technology, Innovation and Research at the British Parking Association(BPA)
During the webinar, which was attended by 52 representatives of local authorities from the UK, Chris Heddle from Cleverciti took on the role of moderator and lead the conversation around the switch to electric vehicles in cities and how smart parking can help local authorities during the transition.
Mr. O’Kelly was the first to address the fact that the transport & mobility sector is not nearly as far advanced in terms of reducing carbon emissions as they should be. Electric Vehicles (EV) are viewed by the BPA as a large part of the solution. The BPA is working with the government to support a National Parking Platform; a publicly owned, national facility that enables Parking Operators (public or private) to communicate digitally with service providers, covering data like occupancy or payments & reservation information.
The next speaker, Ms. Clements from Element Energy, provided an example of their support to LAs on their road to electrification: an analysis for the Birmingham city council to assess taxi demand to determine where charging points should be located.
Mr. Mackenzie from Trojan Energy shared how their EV charging solution works. The connector is hidden in the pavement and accessible when needed. Additionally, Trojan teamed up with Cleverciti to tackle the issue of non-EV vehicles blocking on-street charging spaces by installing Cleverciti Sensors on lampposts along the street. This data is used in an app for EV drivers, showing them available parking spaces in real-time.
Last but not least, Mr. Heddle discussed how parking data can assist LAs with electrification, emphasizing the pressure local authorities face to manage parking more efficiently. Smart parking solutions using Cleverciti's technologies can monitor parking conditions and help reduce the time spent searching for parking, thus lowering CO2 emissions and increasing efficiency for local authorities.
It is safe to say that when you combine EV infrastructure with smart parking data, that is when the puzzle truly comes together. By utilizing this combination, cities can encourage effective use of space, incentivize EV drivers, and improve overall traffic conditions.
For those interested, the full recording of the event can be viewed here:
Key Takeaways
- Smart parking is critical in assisting local authorities during the transitional phase towards electric vehicles.
- Collaboration with companies like Cleverciti and Trojan Energy can solve common challenges faced by EV infrastructure deployment.
- Leveraging data from parking solutions not only improves efficiency but also has positive impacts on emissions and public satisfaction.
Stay tuned for insights on how to further explore smart parking's role in urban mobility and electrification.